A Little White Lie
by Eilonnwy
Summary: Merlin is not the only one who can keep a secret.


A/N: Written for Imaginary_Lives for the Merlin Santa exchange on livejournal. I had this on LJ for a while and forgot to post it here.

oOoOo

Arthur should have known better than do go hunting near Cenred's borders, but he had been hunting a large stag for the better part of the day and he wasn't about to give up because it crossed into another kingdom.

However, much to Arthur's dismay, it turned out Cenred had increased his patrol and they ran straight into one the sentries just as the sun began to set.

"I told you this was a bad idea!" Merlin cried as he pushed his horse into a gallop behind Arthur's.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur spat back. They were outnumbered eight to two, not that Merlin could really fight, but even if Merlin was a knight of Camelot he'd be uncertain about those odds. So they ran, pushing their horses as fast as they could go into the forest, back towards Camelot with the stag completely forgotten.

It had rained earlier, so the path was muddy and the leaves were moist, but Arthur pressed on. He glanced back only once to make sure Merlin was close behind; a moment later two arrows flew by and struck nearby trees. It was close, so close that Arthur swore he had felt the arrow against his cheek and checked to see if he was bleeding. There was nothing there so Arthur kept pushing his forward, hoping Merlin would be able to keep up.

Minutes later Arthur couldn't hear Cenred's men behind him, and there were no more arrows flying by. After a few more minutes Arthur was certain that he had lost the soldiers and brought his horse to a halt so they could rest.

"That was a bit of a chase, wasn't it, Merlin?" Arthur asked as he saw his bedraggled manservant stop behind him.

"Yes, Sire," Merlin replied, gasping for breath. "I think-"

Merlin slumped forward off his horse and onto the ground, a large arrow protruding from his back.

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed as he jumped off his horse and rushed to Merlin's side. "Damnit," Arthur cursed as he tried to figure out what to do. He was a warrior, not a physician. He had no idea what to do or how bad the wound was, but at the very least he knew he had to get the arrow out and stop the bleeding.

With shaking hands, Arthur grasped the shaft and pulled it out of Merlin's back tossing the arrow aside. Merlin gasped in pain, though his voice did not carry in the wind. He was growing weaker with each passing second.

Blood was everywhere as he worked, so Arthur grabbed his waterskin and poured some onto his hands to wash it away and then the wound to clean it. He ripped off strips of fabric from Merlin's tunic and began to press them against the gaping wound trying to staunch the bleeding.

Arthur ripped off more strips from Merlin's shirt and then applied them to the wound until he didn't see any more blood seeping through the cloth. He took longer strips to tie the bandage onto Merlin's shoulder and back. When that was done, Arthur wiped his forehead with his wrist, relieved that he managed to get the bleeding to stop.

Arthur reached for the waterskin and took a sip, and that's when he heard voices in the distance – soldiers. Arthur could hear the horses whinny and metal scraping against chain mail. Arthur knew he had traveled well back into Camelot's territory, but it seemed Cenred's men had decided it was worth the risk to keep pursuing. This did not bode well as Arthur was still outnumbered, but now he had to care for an injured servant without any idea if any of Camelot's men were also out guarding the border. For all Arthur knew, he was alone, and Cenred's men knew it too.

Arthur quietly whistled for his horses and shook Merlin gently. "Merlin! Merlin!"

"I'm here," Merlin' replied, his voice weak and he was breathing rapidly, as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. Arthur grabbed his horse's reins and steadied him.

"Can you ride?" Arthur asked.

Merlin began to reach out for the reins but suddenly pulled back and nearly collapsed. He shook his head and gasped in pain. "No."

"Alright, I'm going to put you on my horse, you need to hold on to me while we ride, can you do that?" Merlin nodded his head at Arthur, who took that as a yes and began lifting the injured servant onto the horse. Merlin managed to hold onto the saddle while Arthur hoisted himself up.

Without wasting another moment, Arthur slapped Merlin's horse, sending him off in another direction, hopefully to distract Cenred's men. The horse whinnied loudly before he galloped off into the forest, and Arthur kicked his own horse forward and back towards Camelot.

oOoOo

They were half a day's ride away from Camelot and what little bit of sunlight they had was fading fast. There was no moon tonight and with bandits afoot and vicious creatures in the woods, Arthur was forced to halt his horse and make camp.

Arthur had pressed his horse as fast as it could go and he was confident he had managed to put some distance between himself and the bandits. Now all Arthur had to do was make sure Merlin survived the night before they journeyed home in the morning.

"Merlin, you awake back there?" Arthur asked, making sure his servant had not passed out during the ride.

"Yes, sire," Merlin whispered with a loud wheeze.

"I have to make camp," Arthur said, figuring this small green patch was as good as any place.

Arthur jumped off the horse and then helped Merlin down. They only had one bedroll between the two of them, Merlin's had been lost when Arthur had sent Merlin's horse off as a decoy. Luckily Merlin had kept the food in his pack, which he had been wearing during the attack and had been attached to Arthur's horse after he saw to Merlin's wound.

Arthur sighed; he couldn't force an injured man to sleep on the solid ground, so he rolled out the bedroll and then guided Merlin over and coaxed him to lie down.

Merlin shivered with fever as he collapsed onto the ground with a small cry of pain. "How far...from Camelot?" Merlin managed to say.

"A half day's ride, but there's no moonlight tonight, and I'll have no idea where I'm going if I try to make it there now. I'm sorry, Merlin, you'll have to hold out until tomorrow, think you can?"

"I'll be fine," Merlin whispered, and then he gestured toward his pack. "Medicines from Gaius . . . in the bag."

Arthur didn't waste a minute and began shifting through the bag until he found a small pouch inside with a few small bottles inside. Arthur placed them in front of Merlin, careful not to break them.

Merlin pointed to the medicines he needed and Arthur helped him take them. When that was done he tried to get Merlin to have some water and a bit of food. He was only able to take a few bites of bread and sips from the waterskin before he finally passed out. Arthur held his ear close to Merlin's mouth and listened for his breath. It was weak, and there was a small crackling noise in his breathing, but it was still there.

Arthur sighed heavily; he had no idea if Merlin would make it through the night. To make matters worse, Arthur would need to stand watch all night, unable to do a thing.

Arthur knew it was risky to start a fire, but it was almost pitch black and he had to be able to see. He walked around, gathering what twigs and branches he could find and then started a small fire.

Arthur sat down by the fire and looked in the pack for any meat, but of course there was none. Merlin had packed light and they should have been returning to Camelot with the meal instead of spending a night out under the stars.

Arthur ended up choosing a small loaf of bread and a hunk of cheese and slowly ate; glancing over to Merlin occasionally to make sure he was alright.

By now his father would probably suspect something was up and send out a patrol of knights to look for them, though Arthur didn't put too much hope in them finding him before dawn. They were just too far away and probably only had the vaguest idea of where to start looking.

With nothing but sleepless hours stretched before him, Arthur couldn't help but think. But not only think, he was worrying, about Merlin. Arthur wasn't prone to worrying, but he knew time was against him, and the longer Merlin spent out here in the woods instead of at the castle under Gaius' care could mean death. He couldn't let that happen, not to his friend.

However, with nothing to do but wait for sunrise, all Arthur could do was worry. That was until he heard a rustle in the nearby bushes and he jumped to his feet, sword drawn.

"There is no need to fear me, Arthur Pendragon," said a voice from the forest. Moments later a figure came forward, covered in a hooded robe, his face was obscured in the darkness. He was decidedly not one of Cenred's men, but Arthur still couldn't take any chances. Bandits were tricky bastards after all.

"Who are you?" Arthur asked with his sword still trained on the man.

"I'm here to help," the man replied and took one step forward. "I sensed his pain."

"What?" Arthur had to admit, that was the last thing he expected to hear.

"Your friend, he is injured."

Arthur made sure to position himself between Merlin, who was still sleeping, and the man before him. "You'll not go near him."

"He is gravely injured," the man said and pulled his hood back revealing an older man, probably in his fifties, with a brown beard streaked with grey. The man had a look about him, and Arthur knew in that instant he was a druid. "If I don't do something, he will die before sunrise."

Arthur hesitated; everything in his body screamed attack. Before him stood an enemy his father had always told him was dangerous, and with the faint threat of magic in the air, Arthur's felt goose bumps.

He knew the man was right, the arrow wound was too deep and now Arthur could make out a faint bluish tint on Merlin's lips. A lung must have been punctured, and Gaius probably couldn't save Merlin, even if they had made it back to Camelot by now.

The realization that Merlin lay dying at his feet hit Arthur hard. He knew in that moment he couldn't let his friend die, and so he lowered his sword. "Save him. Please."

The druid nodded and rushed to Merlin's side. The crackling noise in Merlin's breath had worsened, and he was gasping for air in his sleep. Calmly, the druid placed his hands on Merlin's chest and began speaking words of magic. _"Agíeman heorpbaoen éðgung, fordyttan þás sárslege"_

The man's eyes flashed with gold and almost immediately Merlin responded to the magic. His breath returned to normal, and he began resting peacefully.

"He will live now," the druid whispered.

"Thank you," Arthur said, and meant it. Seeing the magic was unsettling, but all he could think of was that Merlin would live and suddenly it didn't matter.

Arthur knelt down to make sure Merlin really was better and found no wound underneath the bandages. Merlin was healed.

"Leave now, before I change my mind," Arthur said suddenly, knowing that what he was doing, letting the druid leave, was against everything he had been taught, but he couldn't punish a man who had saved his friend.

The druid bowed his head gracefully. "He was not meant to die here."

The words hung in the air before they finally sunk in and Arthur realized what the man had said. "What do you mean-" Arthur began to ask as he stood up, but by then the druid had left as if he had never been there.

Arthur removed the bloodied bandage and cleaned Merlin up as best he could, added some more wood to the fire and stood guard while Merlin slept. The druid's words were forgotten.

oOoOo

The night passed without any other disturbances. Arthur simply assumed Cenred's men must have given up the search once it got to dark. Now that the sun was rising, a small moan informed Arthur that his servant was awake.

"My head hurts," Merlin said as he sat up slowly, hand pressed against his right temple.

"Do you remember what happened?" Arthur asked.

"Just us chasing after that damned stag, and then Cenred's men, and then nothing," Merlin answered, sounding a little lost.

"You hit your head and fell off your horse; even ruined your shirt in the process," Arthur said, not knowing what possessed him to lie, but just knowing deep down he couldn't admit to what he had done. His father had spent his life trying fight magic and those who use it, and yet Arthur simply let one walk away after healing his friend. He wasn't exactly sure what it meant, and he wasn't ready to let Merlin know and ask a million questions. No, it was easier this way. "I had to carry you, you clumsy idiot."

"I did?" Merlin asked, his voice sounding uncertain as he looked down at his torn shirt.

"Yeah, next time watch out for tree branches when we're running from Cenred's men," Arthur said, unable to refrain from teasing even if it was a lie.

"How about you listen to your servant next time and don't go hunting stags in Cenred's kingdom so we're not running from his men?" Merlin replied indignantly.

Arthur smiled, suddenly grateful that they were falling back to their usual taunts. "Me listen to you, Merlin? Not a chance."

fin.


End file.
